Official: Arsene Wenger sanctions shocking deal for Tolgay Arslan

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According to reports in Turkey, Arsenal are looking at Besiktas midfielder Tolgay Arslan.

As the window draws to a close, the latest name that Arsenal have been linked with is Arslan, a German player of Turkish descent, who has represented both countries at youth level and neither so far as a full international.

The 27-year-old has been linked with the Gunners by the “Turkish media” according to talkSPORT, although they don’t go into any further detail about exactly which article or news station the information comes from. He’s reportedly available for £9.5m.

It’s unlikely that there’s much to this rumour, considering the dodgy source and the fact that, in my experience, talkSPORT are the most likely mainstream English website to try and stir up Arsenal fans by inventing stories about relatively unknown players.

As for Arslan, however, the playmaker spent his youth career with Borussia Dortmund, before spending six years with Hamburger SV. He then moved onto Besiktas midway through the 2014/15 campaign, and remained with the club for the next two and a half seasons until now.

During that time, he made 77 appearances for the Turkish side. Over half of those appearances (44) came in 2016/17, and he assisted his teammates eight times during that period. I wouldn’t bet on this one, but we’ll have to wait and see if Arsène wants Arslan to join Arsenal.